His coup-de-grace? A modern Duke Ellington Big Band tribute he'd mastered himself. Demoing two renditions of 'Fever', one digital, one vinyl, one by Elvis, one by a female vocalist probably world-famous and instantly recognizable to one and all 'cept me (Jazz isn't my forte), Peter McGrath gently poked fun at the raging debate over which format is superior. The remainder of this system? A Theta Carmen transport, EMM Labs Meitner DAC, a VPI HRX turntable with Lyra Helicon and a 24-bit Tascam tape deck. Ditto for a single-box version of the TL7.5 preamp dubbed the 6.5 (estimated price range $6-8K). By CES, a 300-watt 'Son of Siegfried' stereo amp in the same tower chassis should premiere (ca. An RS232 communications port can interface with a Crestron system.

Dubbed a 'smart' amplifier, in-house developed logic software controls all operating parameters such as tubes drawing too little current (the circuit compensates but a green light alerts the user which tube is sagging) tubes drawing too much (auto shutdown) bias monitoring and constant adjustments throughout the tubes' life cycle under/over-voltage incidents brown-outs and thermal runaway. The tube complement consists of a 12AT7 input tube, 6350 driver (a high-power derivative of the 12BH7) and twelve paralleled 6550Cs. Siegfried's transformer taps are optimized for 5 ohms to deliver the full-stated power into 4 ohms and remain stable into 2. The Wilson MAXX speakers were tethered to VTL's new 800-watt, $40K/pr Siegfried Reference monos, themselves hitched to the firm's fully balanced, twin 12AX7/Mosfet two-box TL7.5 Reference Line Preamplifier. And flaunt it they did: Give it up for Luke Manley of VTL and his under-handedly elegant partner in crime. Still, if you've got it, flaunt it, sesame (sez a me). Of course, using personal master tapes as Wilson's Peter McGrath was able to do is the wet dream of any exhibitor. In the class emphasizing focus and resolution, the Wilson/ VTL /Transparent demo in the 2nd floor ball room epitomized the genre. industry features: Home Entertainment 2003 in San Francisco

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